Trump tried to get Rep. Lauren Boebert to withdraw her support for the Epstein discharge petition. [View all]

Trump administration officials met with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., at the White House on Wednesday, attempting to convince her to remove her name from the Jeffrey Epstein discharge petition before it couldn’t be changed, according to a White House official and a source close to Boebert.

Boebert is just one of four House Republicans who signed the Epstein discharge petition -- a procedural maneuver allowing legislation to reach the House floor without the blessing of its leadership. On Wednesday afternoon, the petition reached 218 signatures after the swearing-in of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., the bar for triggering House action.

Now, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will be forced to hold a floor vote on an issue that has roiled the Republican base and would, if successful, order the government to release more of its files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Under House rules, no more names can be added or removed from the petition since it hit 218 signatures.

Trump administration officials and President Donald Trump — who on Wednesday was fending off new allegations about his connection to Epstein — had sought to stop the House from acting in what would be a decisive rebuke of the president, who has argued that the Epstein controversy is a sideshow he thinks the GOP should ignore. House Democrats released new emails Wednesday from Epstein suggesting that Trump "knew about the girls," which Trump has repeatedly denied.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-tried-rep-lauren-boebert-231901275.html